<\/p>\n
Bellaire High School students take part in a walkout to protest against ICE, despite threats from Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Houston. Abbott warned students, teachers and school could face serious consequences for acts of activism during the school day.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The ICE arrest of a Bellaire High student has reignited fears within Houston communities affected by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War \u2014 including both Ukrainians seeking refugee status and Russians fleeing from President Vladimir Putin’s regime.<\/p>\n
Houston high school student Alim Garipov was arrested Friday and detained<\/a> by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Houston’s Hobby Airport. He was released three days later,<\/a> but his detainment was enough to rattle the community, said Sophia\u00a0Grinblat, founder of the local Russian-language newspaper and cultural center Our Texas.<\/p>\n Garipov, 18, and his family are some of the thousands of Russian families who have sought asylum in the United States<\/a> since the Russia-Ukraine War began in February 2022. Many have built a life in Houston. Russian men aged 18-30 face one year of military conscription back home. Some may also\u00a0face prison sentences.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have also sought refuge in the United States, with many earning two-year protection under the Uniting for Ukraine<\/a> humanitarian parole program. Many would also face military service and additional dangers if sent home,\u00a0Grinblat said. More than 16,000 civilians<\/a> have died in the Russian-Ukraine War, according to a July update from the United Nations.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re all waiting. What will be next? No one is certain about the future,\u201d Grinblat said. \u201cIt’s a horrible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration paused new applications<\/a> to the Ukraine program in January 2025, and Ukrainian families looking to reapply lost access to the streamlined re-parole process. Since then, at least\u00a0several dozen Ukrainians<\/a> and hundreds of Russians<\/a> have been deported to their home countries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve turned our back on Ukrainians \u2026. (and) we’ve turned our back on opponents of the\u00a0Putin regime,\u201d said Jennifer Iba\u00f1ez Whitlock, senior policy counsel at the National Immigration Law Council.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n STUDENT ARRESTS:\u00a0HISD student remains detained by ICE after Trump administration reverses asylum approval<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018An extraordinary young man\u2019<\/p>\n Garipov was traveling to visit colleges on the East Coast with family when he was arrested and detained by ICE at the airport, his teacher and neighbor Ann Linsley said.<\/p>\n His asylum case is pending. An ICE spokesperson said in a statement Saturday that Garipov was admitted into the U.S. May 7, 2022, as a non-immigrant with permission to remain in the country no later than Nov. 6, 2022, but failed to depart.<\/p>\n Garipov\u2019s detainment sparked an outpouring of support from the Bellaire High School community. An incoming senior, Garipov taught himself English and became one of the school\u2019s top students, Linsley said. Garipov is captain of the swim team, founded the school\u2019s Russian Student Association and had begun volunteering at Rice University\u2019s Bennett Lab this summer.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dozens of classmates, teachers and friends sent letters of support pleading for his release. On Monday, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, immigration lawyer Olsa Alikaj-Cano and Garipov\u2019s family announced his release in a joint statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis outcome came after a tireless, expeditious effort over the weekend, working in partnership to secure Alim\u2019s release,\u201d the statement read. \u201cSo many people across our city\u2014his friends, teachers, coaches, and so many others\u2014rallied behind Alim in support, and those who know him know it\u2019s easy to understand why.\u00a0 He is an extraordinary young man with a bright future ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n New fears for people seeking asylum<\/p>\n Garipov\u2019s arrest and release has united Houston\u2019s Russian and Ukrainian communities,\u00a0Grinblat said. But she said many families remain shaken.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe community was very disturbed,\u201d\u00a0Grinblat said.<\/p>\n Some saw parallels between Garipov\u2019s situation and their own.<\/p>\n Russian native and longtime Houston resident Stanislav Artemchuk said he passed his naturalization interview and was recommended for approval in December. His case has remained pending since.<\/p>\n Artemchuk, who suffered from a major car accident in November, has spent the last several months recovering and chipping away at medical bills as he awaits a final decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s horrible. I think it’s a big nation of immigrants, and everyone deserves opportunities,\u201d\u00a0Artemchuk said. \u201cIt’s getting harder and harder to live here as a foreigner.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: HISD has lost nearly 4,000 immigrant students amid ICE crackdown: ‘We fear coming to school’<\/a><\/p>\n \nAsylum-seekers can still be detained\n<\/p>\n Garipov is one of several Houston-area students who have been detained by ICE<\/a>. Some \u2014 including Lamar High School student Geremy Arteaga Cru<\/a>z \u2014 also had pending asylum applications.<\/p>\n Anyone without legal immigration status \u2014 even those with pending applications \u2014 can be detained. The practice has become much more common under the Trump administration, said Mario\u00a0Carrillo, campaigns director at immigration advocacy group America\u2019s Voice.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that we’ve seen from this administration is an intent to completely dismantle asylum, both from preventing new asylum seekers from entering the country to make their case heard, but also from instilling fear in those asylum seekers who are in the country now, awaiting their cases to be heard,\u201d\u00a0Carrillo said. \u201cFolks are afraid to travel. Folks are afraid to shop. Folks are afraid, in certain states, to take their kids to visit the doctor \u2026 and immigrant parents are afraid to send their children to school.\u201d<\/p>\n Most asylum seekers are not eligible for deportation. Instead, they may be detained for several months to encourage self-departure, said\u00a0Iba\u00f1ez Whitlock with the National Immigration Law Center.<\/p>\n